Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources: A Brief Overview

1. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:A Brief Overview • An expectation of every MATC teaching candidate will be to learn the standards for the for the: • professional licensed educator in Illinois • K-12 student learner • the program of study that the MATC candidate is enrolled (i.e. secondary education, elementary education).

2. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:The ILLINOIS PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS (ITPS) • The Illinois Professional Teaching Standards are used to measure teaching performance of all licensed teachers in the state of Illinois. Most district teacher evaluations are based squarely on these standards. • For each Aurora University teaching candidate, the ILLINOIS PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS are used to assess field experience performance. The instrument used in field experiences will appear in a handbook that you will access on Moodle or purchase at the bookstore when you enroll in a field experience. • To access the IPTSs, please right click on: http://www.isbe.net/profprep/PDFs/ipts.pdf

3. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:The ILLINOIS CONTENT AREA TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS • Another requirement of the licensed teacher in Illinois is to demonstrate competencies in technology, to appropriately and responsibly use tools, resources, processes, and systems to retrieve, assess, and evaluate information from various media. • To access the Technology Standards, right click on: http://www.isbe.net/ils/Default.htm and scroll down the page to Illinois Content Area Technology Standards

4. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:The ILLINOIS LEARNING STANDARDS (ILS) • These standards are used to assess K-12 student learner achievement and are the basis for all standardized tests in the state of Illinois (i.e. ISATs, PSAEs, etc.) • It is expected that all lesson plans written will align with ILSs throughout your program of study. • To access the ILSs, please right click on: • http://www.isbe.net/ils/Default.htm

5. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:Elementary Education Standards • To view these standards, right click on: • http://acei.org/ACEIElementaryStandardsSupportingExplanation.5.07.pdf • The intent of these standards is to ensure that: • Elementary teachers are prepared with the knowledge, skills, values and techniques to interact successfully with children, parents, guardians, colleagues, administrators, social agencies and others who affect children's lives. • Elementary teachers adapt to the interests, learning styles and needs of individual children in a complex, rapidly changing and culturally diverse society. • Elementary teacher recognize that teaching is a changing process for which elementary teachers must be prepared.

6. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:Elementary Education Standards • Free resources are available to elementary teachers via ACEI: • http://acei.org/kindergarten.htm

7. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources: NCTE Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Council for Teachers of English) • The vision guiding these standards is that all students must have the opportunities and resources to develop the language skills they need to pursue life's goals and to participate fully as informed, productive members of society.  These standards assume that literacy growth begins before children enter school as they experience and experiment with literacy activities—reading and writing, and associating spoken words with their graphic representations. • To view the standards right click on: • http://www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htm

8. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources: NCTE Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Council for Teachers of English) • Subscribe to the BLOG on the NCTE web site, to communicate with other teachers in the English content area. • To subscribe, go to: • http://www.ncte.org/about and click on “Blogs”

9. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:NCTM Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Council for Teachers of Math) • Mathematical competence opens doors to productive futures. A lack of mathematical competence keeps those doors closed. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) challenges the notion that mathematics is for only the select few. On the contrary, everyone needs to understand mathematics. • All students should have the opportunity and the support necessary to learn significant mathematics with depth and understanding. There is no conflict between equity and excellence. • To view the standards from NCTM, right click on: • http://standards.nctm.org/document/index.htm

10. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:NCTM Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Council for Teachers of Math) • Take advantage of the NCTM’s free lessons and resources (broken down by grade level) by copying and pasting this url into your internet browser: • http://www.nctm.org/resources/default.aspx?id=230

11. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:NCSS Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Council for the Social Studies) • The Curriculum Standards for Social Studies were developed by a Task Force of the National Council for the Social Studies and approved by the NCSS Board of Directors in April 1994. • The overarching intent of the standards is to ensure the teaching of the relationships of time, the individual, continuity, and society in the context of social justice and cultural pluralism. • To view the standards, right click on: http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/

12. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:NCSS Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Council for the Social Studies) • NCSS offers free: • lesson plans: • http://www.socialstudies.org/lessons/ • Teaching resources: • http://www.socialstudies.org/resources/ • Documents to use in teaching: • http://www.socialstudies.org/twd

13. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:NSTA Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Science Teacher Association Standards) • The National Science Education Standards present a vision of a scientifically literate populace. They outline what students need to know, understand, and be able to do to be scientifically literate at different grade levels. • Due to the large size of the file, it is best to copy and paste this url into your browser (versus right-clicking on the link): http://www.nsta.org/pdfs/NSTAstandards2003.pdf

14. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:NSTA Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Science Teacher Association Standards) • A more condensed version of the NSTA standards is available at: • http://www.ualr.edu/crgrable/id108.htm

15. Content Area Standards and Content Area Resources:NSTA Standards (Secondary Education Majors: National Science Teacher Association Standards) • NSTA has a discussion board available by visiting: • http://www.nsta.org/pd/ementoring.aspx

16. Teaching and Content Area Standards: A Summary • Standards are here to stay. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation has only increased the standards-based movement across the USA. • http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml • Be sure to review the appropriate standards often—and align your teaching and learning with each set, in collaboration with your professors and cooperating teachers, as you journey through your teacher preparation program at Aurora University